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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about O'Leary (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for O'Leary. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

O'Leary is located in Plymouth County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Plymouth County: Cherokee, Sioux, Woodbury & Union (SD).

Below are the counties that are near O'Leary. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to O'Leary:

  • Plymouth County     (The home county of O'Leary)
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.
    • Oyens
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • Le Mars
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Remsen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingsley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Merrill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Brunsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Brunsville is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brunsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Hinton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Struble
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Struble is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • James
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Adaville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Craig
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Craig is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craig
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
    • Millnerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.
    • Fielding
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Marcus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cleghorn
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Mary Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Washta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Quimby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Meriden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Cherokee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Larrabee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ida County
    • Holstein
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • O'Brien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.
    • Germantown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Paullina
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
    • Calumet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Calumet is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Sioux County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.
    • Maurice
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Maurice is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maurice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
    • Alton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Orange City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Granville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Granville is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Ireton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • McNally
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Hospers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Sioux Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Westbrook Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Westbrook Village is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Village
    • Chatsworth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Middleburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Hawarden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.
    • Moville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Pierson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
    • Lawton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Lawton is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
    • Evergreen Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Evergreen Village is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
    • Holiday Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Holiday Village is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Bronson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Correctionville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Regency of Sioux City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Regency of Sioux City is located in Woodbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency of Sioux City
    • Sioux City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Glen Ellen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Anthon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Climbing Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Dakota County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.
    • South Sioux City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Dakota City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Union County (SD)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to O'Leary, see our County-by-County Page for O'Leary.

Cemeteries Near O'Leary ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of O'Leary.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for O'Leary - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for O'Leary covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, O'Leary had a post office and no railroad service.

These communities are listed based on their distance from O'Leary, with the one closest to O'Leary listed first.

  • Union Center
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Union Center is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
  • Neptune
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Neptune is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
  • Oyens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Le Mars
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Remsen
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Kingsley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Merrill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Seney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Seney is located in Plymouth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seney
  • Hinton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Fielding
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Moville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Pierson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pierson is located in Woodbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Struble
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Struble is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Struble
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
    • James
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Marcus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around O'Leary. See our List of 1890's Communities around O'Leary.

Newspapers Published in O'Leary ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 123 newspapers that have been published in the area around O'Leary.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of O'Leary, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for O'Leary.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to O'Leary:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- O'Leary) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about O'Leary, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.